


It's the simple things

by thundernight



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Backstory, Boys fighting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Q is miserable, Sick Q, Working things out, Worried Alec Trevelyan, Worried James Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-18 20:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5942491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundernight/pseuds/thundernight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking care of himself has never been Q's forte.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> A big thank you to Chestnut_NOLA for the amazing banner she created for this story. It's perfect and I love it!

 

Q branch was quiet. It was very early in the morning and only a few boffins were present. They were just finishing their night shift and they couldn’t wait to go home. It was an easy thing to guess. With no missions to overwatch or agents to babysit, Q branch was left to run system updates and firewall's checks during the night. Utterly boring stuff once you had experienced the adrenaline rush caused by the need to provide quick information to help save an agent’s life or complete a mission successfully. The boffins, seated at their respective stations, were staring blankly at their computer screens. Hours of checking over lines of code left them with tired eyes, their shoulders were hunched over and loud yawning could be heard from one or two. Despite their tiredness, they immediately sensed the arrival of someone in their territory and they quickly shifted their attention to the newcomer. The scene that presented in front of their eyes would have been hilarious if it wasn’t their boss the one who had entered Q branch.

Q stood just past the sliding doors that separated his division from the rest of MI6. He was wearing his trademark anorak buttoned up to his chin, chequered trousers covered a pair of old brown shoes and a messenger bag rested on his side. The thing that caught his underlings’ attention though, was the fact that Q was drenched. His chocolate hair was plastered to his face, some bangs obscuring his glasses. Rivulets of water run down his neck and his wet clothes hung heavily on his lithe figure. A small puddle was forming under him; drops of water fell from the hems of his anorak to the ground. The only thing that seemed dry was his bag, but that was only for the fact that it was built with a high water proof material that Q himself had designed. All in all, the head of Q branch looked like a drowned rat, an adorable one at that, but still pitiful enough to make his minions jump up worriedly from their workstations and start walking toward him.

“Morning everyone! How was the night shift? Had any problems?”

Q was being his usual professional self. Despite being chilled to the bone and wishing nothing else than to change from his wet clothes, work came first.

“Nothing to report, sir” the minions immediately assured him “but if we may ask, what happened to you?”

Q looked at the worried faces of his minions and sighed. “I just god caught in the rain during my way here. Let me tell you that it’s pouring out there. You better find an umbrella before venturing home or you’ll end up like me. Now if you will excuse me, I’d like to change.”

He started towards his office but before he could take two steps, David, the young boffin he left in charge before going home the night before, stopped him.

“How about I make you a cup of tea, sir? It will help you warm up faster.”

Q regarded David pensively. Usually he didn’t like using his boffins in such a way, even though they assured him that they liked bringing him tea, but he really craved a hot cup of earl grey and the idea of not having to make it himself was appealing.

“Thank you David, I’ll take up your offer. Could you bring it to my office please? Ta.”

He watched David sprint to the kitchenette in Q branch before turning to the other minions.

“You should get back to your workstation and complete your tasks. Your shift ends in a half a hour and I’m sure you’re eager to go home.”

The minions scampered back to finish their work, while Q finally reached his office. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he leaned on it with a sigh. The day had just started and he was already so tired. Steeling himself he crossed the room and went straight to the locker where he kept a change of clothes in case he needed it. He couldn’t wait to peel off the wet clothes he wore and wear something definitely warmer. He took off the anorak and hung it up to let it dry. He then proceeded to take off his cardigan and the shirt he wore underneath it. He used the shirt like a towel to try and dry his hair a bit as not to have any more water dripping off. He then let the garment fall to the floor and with a shiver he reached inside the locker. He grabbed the t-shirt and the sweater folded inside and quickly put them on, before working on the lower part of his body. The trousers were soon replaced with a dry pair and the socks too. Unfortunately, he had to keep the shoes since he didn’t have a change of those, but at least he was warmer than before. Just as he finished putting away the wet clothing he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

David entered the office balancing a tray with a cup of tea and a plate with a pastry on it.

“Here’s your tea and I thought you could use something sweet so I heated up one of the mini apple strudels Mary brought yesterday.”

David put the tray on Q’s desk, turned to face his boss and chuckled.

“What?” asked Q, clearly puzzled at what could be so amusing.

“Is that a new sweater sir?”

Q looked down and immediately saw what made his minion laugh. The blue sweater he had on was way too big to be his. The sleeves were too long for his arms so that only the tips of his fingers peered out at the end. Clearly it was designed for someone with a broader chest and shoulders than him. The Royal Navy insignia embroidered on the upper left side left no doubt to whom the garment belonged to. James Bond. A thought passed Q’s mind and made him check something. He lifted up the hem of the sweater and inspected the t-shirt underneath. Sure enough it wasn’t one of his either. The olive green shirt with a knife printed on it, a symbol of the Royal Marine Commando, clearly belonged to Alec Trevelyan. Q blushed. Those two just loved seeing him wearing their clothes at home, but Q didn’t think they could actually get to this point at work. Surely the two of them had sneaked into his office and switched his spare clothes with the ones he was currently wearing. Possessive bastards.

“It seems that our security was breached. I’ll need to upgrade it to prevent that something like this doesn’t repeat itself.”

David arched an eyebrow and studied his superior. It wasn’t a secret that Q was in a relationship with the two most deadly 00 agents in MI6’s history. 006 and 007 weren’t shy about showing their affection to their younger lover. The two could often be seen trailing behind the young genius carrying things for him or dropping in Q branch just to steal a quick kiss. It wasn’t uncommon to see the two agents lounging on the sofa in Q’s office while the boffin was working. They were content just being in the presence of their lover and they would behave themselves as not to disturb the younger man from one of his projects, moving only to replenish the boffin with tea when he'd run out, an occurrence that bewildered everyone at MI6. The two agents were also very protective of Q, a fact known even before they officially got together. If anyone dared to insult, question or cause trouble for the Quartermaster they would be faced with the deadly 006 and 007. No one continued with their disrespect after having confronted with those two.

One particular time, the two agents nearly killed one of the new 00s for having hurt Q. Brighton Cooper was an arrogant man who got promoted to the 00 division after the death of the former 003. During his first mission he got in trouble as a consequence of his inexperience and Q had to guide him to safety, not without effort. The agent then accused Q of having interfered in his mission and that he would have completed it successfully regardless of Q’s intervention. When Q berated the agent pointing out his rookie mistakes and telling him that he would have been killed if not for his help, Cooper lost it. He threw a punch at the smaller man, hitting him in the face. The impact made Q’s glasses fly across the room as the boffin crumbled to the ground in pain. Fortunately Cooper was satisfied with the damage he caused and went on his way, not knowing what he had brought upon himself.

006 and 007 had been away on two relatively easy missions. They returned the day after the altercation, late at night. They went straight home instead of dropping at Headquarters to give their reports. They couldn’t wait to get to Q, they had missed the boffin during their missions, James in Manila and Alec in New Delhi. When they entered their apartment the shower was on. Grinning mischievously they made their way to the bathroom, discarding clothes along the way. Alec was the first to reach their destination, James just a step behind him; stealthily he opened the door to the spacious shower box and stepped silently inside. Q was facing the opposite direction, intent of washing his hair, the smell of his chocolaty shampoo filled the air and the two agents couldn’t help but smile. Alec was just stepping forward to close the distance with Q when he froze; the smile vanished from his face. Behind him James saw the Russian’s rigid posture and looked over his partner’s shoulder to see what caused that particular reaction and his blood started to boil. Q had just turned his head slightly to the side to rinse the shampoo from his hair, thus exposing his bruised cheekbone to the agents behind him.

“What the fuck happened?” Alec exploded, incapable of reigning in his temper. Q startled violently at the angry voice behind him. Turning around abruptly he lost his footing on the slippery shower floor and he would have crushed down pretty hard if not for a pair of strong arm encircling his waist. He recognized Alec’s touch immediately and relaxed a little. His Russian lover righted him and then helped him out of the shower apologizing for having startled him. James waited outside with a big fluffy towel that was wrapped around the boffin’s body as soon as he exited the shower.  
James gently grabbed Q’s chin and tilted his head to the left to get a better look at the damage. As he scanned the bruised flesh his eyes paled to a colder shade of blue, just like ice, and his jaw locked tightly.

Q’s cheekbone was slightly swollen, the skin was red and tender and at the centre presented a small laceration held together by a butterfly closure. The edges of the bruise were starting to turn a blue/blackish colour meaning that the injury couldn’t have been older than a couple of days.  
Alec came to stand beside James, his attention too was focused on Q’s cheekbone. Carefully he raised a hand to touch the injured area but as soon as his fingers ghosted over the abused flesh Q flinched in pain and a small whimper escaped his closed lips. Reigning his rage Alec stepped away to retrieve Q’s glasses from where the boffin had left them before entering the shower while  
James started to guide Q to the bedroom.

“C’mon, love. Let’s get dressed and then you can tell us the fucking bastard who dared to lay a finger on you!”

“I’ll pull out all of his teeth, one by one! Etot ublyudok ranial Q!!” added Alec sliding Q’s glasses gently on his face.

Q was a bit reluctant to tell his lovers what happened because he knew they would go overboard with their personal revenge. Not that he cared about what happened to Brighton Cooper. The asshole deserved a severe punishment for how he acted toward a superior, but Q didn’t want his lovers to be reprimanded for having acted on his behalf. Fortunately the two 00 agents didn’t get in any trouble even though they carried out their plan for revenge.  
The next day, in fact, both Alec and James got called in M’s office. Mallory had been sent the video footage of the altercation between Q and 003 thanks to the minions of Q Branch that had been outraged by the accident involving their beloved Overlord.

M showed both agents what took place and wasn’t surprised when the two 00s shared a deadly look that promised a slow and painful lesson for 003. While M agreed with them, he couldn’t denying to having a soft spot for the boffin, he couldn’t outright allow them to hurt Cooper. The agent would be demoted with no chance to rise in the ranks again and he would be put on suspension immediately. Such disrespect of authority could not be accepted at MI6. M was satisfied having ruined the agent’s career for good, but he got the feeling that the two men seated in front of him weren’t pacified. Mallory was sure they would do something more drastic than what he did but couldn’t bring himself to care. He would look in the other direction if something was to happen to Brighton Cooper, he had his hands tied, but Bond and Trevelyan didn’t have the same problem. It didn’t come as a surprise when pictures of a beaten Cooper, casted right arm bound to his chest, was forwarded to him by the minions. M smirked satisfied.

So, yeah, 006 and 007 were very protective of their young lover and they never failed to show others that Q belonged to them. David wasn’t surprised that the two sneaked in Q’s office and switched his spare set of clothes to something that would scream to everyone that the Quartermaster was taken. Really, it was a wonder they took all this time to do this.  
The knowledge about the over protectiveness of the two 00s, though, conflicted with the state Q was currently in. The two agents weren’t away on mission so they would have accompanied the Quartermaster to work if the weather was that bad.

“Speaking of 006 and 007...may I inquire as to their whereabouts? Why didn’t they give you a lift here?” David voiced his inner thoughts.

Q, who in the meantime had made a beeline for his desk and was now cradling the cup of tea in his hands to warm them, lifted his head to regard him.

“Oh I insisted they stayed home. I had to be here this early because I have some urgent projects I have to finish before the end of the day and I didn’t want to bother them. Alec returned home from his last mission only 4 hours ago and James is still on medical leave for the bullet wound he got in his arm two weeks ago. I didn’t think it would start raining that bad.” He explained while he took a seat at his desk and started to boot up his computers.

“Now, I have to start working and you should finish up before heading home. The day shift will relieve you soon. Oh and David, thank you for the tea.”

 

JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.

 

As the hours passed by, Q started to lose focus on what he working on. Despite the numerous and continuous cups of tea, he was freezing. He couldn’t seem to stay warm. Tiny tremors wracked his thin frame and an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. He knew he was getting sick, but he couldn’t go home despite wanting nothing more than to crawl back into the warm of his bed and the arms of his lovers.

Alec and James would surely get angry with him for not taking better care of his health. He should have gone home at the first sign of sickness, but his stubborn professionalism wouldn’t allow it. He had projects to finish and he would complete his work on time. Being sick would not distract him from the task at hand. He was the bloody Quartermaster of MI6, he had serious responsibilities and a cold wasn’t going to stop him from his goal. Resolution settled on his mind and he focused all his willpower on the screens in front of him. He refused one of his minions when he offered to go fetch him some lunch. He told him that he wasn’t hungry. Skipping the meal would give him more time he could use to work. It came as a surprise when the boffin (Gareth, his tired mind supplied) came back an hour later with Chinese takeaway. Sheepishly, Gareth laid the container on Q’s desk.

“006 instructed us to bring you some food at meals’ time when neither he nor 007 were present at Headquarters; even if you refuse it.” He said seeing his boss’ raised eyebrow. “He was adamant on the matter.” He further explained. “We considered wise to follow his orders on the matter”

Gareth quickly excused himself and went back to eat his own meal. Q stared at the container sitting innocently on his desk and fished out his phone.

“Really, Alec? Did you have my technicians babysit me?” he asked as soon as the call was answered.

“Oh krasavets, you know we do this for you. You skip meals too often when we aren’t there to remind you to eat, so we delegated your minions to provide you food in such occasions. You-

“Alec and I just worry about you, darling.” James’ voice came from the other end. He must have stolen Alec’s phone from his end. Q could hear his other lover grumbling in the background, clearly not happy with the blue eyed agent.

“Damn it Alec, stop kicking me! Alright, alright I’ll put him on speaker. Sorry Q, Alec’s being a pain in the ass. I liked him better when he was still sleeping…” James started, before he was abruptly interrupted by an agitated Q.

“Oh my God, Alec, did I wake you? I’m so sorry. You must be still tired from the mission. I’ll let you get some more sleep…”

“Relax liubov, you didn’t wake me up. I’ve slept more than enough. James and I just finished our lunch.” The Russian assured.

“So when are you getting home? We are considering coming there and kidnapping you. We’re kind of bored without you…”

Before James had time to add more, Q interrupted him once more.

“Absolutely NOT, James. You know I have lots of work to do and if I want to be finished soon I need to concentrate! I can’t have you two coming here to make havoc in my lab. Stay put and I’ll see you tonight.”

A series of “buts” were coming from his phone but Q steeled himself. “No buts. James, Alec, please, I have work to do! Just let me finish it.” Something in his tone of voice must have reached his lovers because they finally gave in. They said their goodbyes and told him they would wait for him.

Q disconnected the call and sighed heavily. He was exhausted. His muscles ached and his head was starting to pound. He shifted his gaze to the Chinese take away currently sitting on his desk and felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly. He just knew that if he ate even a morsel of it, he would get sick. He grimaced remembering how his lovers worried about his health. They would not be happy with him skipping this meal, but Q told himself that he could endure the situation for a little bit longer.  
Once the project was finished, he would go straight home and admit defeat. He would let James and Alec scold him all they wanted if that meant he could get some rest.  
Ignoring the food, the young Quartermaster stating typing furiously on his keyboard.

 

JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.

 

It was 7 P. M. When Q finally logged off and powered down his computers. He leaned back in his chair and exhaled softly. Thank goodness, the day had been a quite one. He didn’t think he would have been able to deal with an emergency today. He felt knackered; he ran a hand through his hair and then he took off his glasses to rub his eyes. He had worked for more than 12 hours, pausing only to answer his minion’s questions or to send a reply to one of his lovers’ messages. James and Alec had kept their promise and had stayed home letting Q work in peace, but they still wrote to him during the afternoon, just to tell him they missed him or that they loved him. Steeling himself, he stood up but he regretted it immediately when the room started spinning furiously around him; he had to grab onto his desk to stay upright. He stood still till he could start walking without fear of falling on his arse. He definitely had gotten the flu. It was in full season and people started to get sick more and more, even at MI6. That fact that he still took the tube to and from work hadn’t obviously helped the matter. People had coughed and sneezed all around him not to mention that he was sure that the rain that morning hadn’t helped. He throat had started to bother him in the last couple of hours and he was sure that his temperature has risen as well. He still had chills and his sore muscle protested at any movement. The dizziness he just experienced was only an added symptom to the list. Despite wanting nothing more that call Alec to come and get him, he couldn’t bring himself to bother his lover, so he set to go home the way he got into work. His anorak was still damp, but he got no choice but to wear it since he didn’t have a spare coat at his office. He put it on, gathered his things and he called a goodbye to his minions before leaving Q Branch.

By the time he reached home he wished nothing more than to change into something warm and go to sleep. It finally stopped raining sometime in the afternoon, so at least he stayed dry this time around, but the ride in the tube hadn’t been the best idea, the continue movements only increased his dizziness which resulted in a near fall. Thankfully he managed not to fall down but he ended up twisting his ankle for his efforts. The walk from the station to his apartment ended up being more difficult than he anticipated, but finally there he was, just outside his safe heaven.

 

JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ.

 

Alec was sitting on the sofa, feet resting on the coffee table in front of him. The telly was on, but his attention was elsewhere. He looked at his watch. 7.20 P.M. Q should be nearly home. The boffin had texted them when he finished working and the journey from Vauxhall to their apartment took around 30 minutes. Any other day he would have been ecstatic to know that in just a few minutes he could have his younger lover in his arms, but he had the nagging feeling that something was wrong. Feeling a bit ridiculous, he tried to focus his attention back on the program he was watching.

James stood in the kitchen, cooking dinner and ignoring that his partner was sharing his same preoccupations. He too felt something off and he couldn’t pinpoint the origin of such a feeling. Alec was back home unscathed from his latest mission. No bullet or knife wounds, not even a bruise or a scratch marked his skin. He was safe.

James stirred his tomato sauce and tested it. It needed a bit more salt and a splash of sugar. He added a few leaves of basil too. The water for the pasta was nearly at boiling point, as soon as Q got home he would put it in. James rubbed his left bicep. The bullet wound he got on his last mission was practically healed. He could have gone back to work already if Q hadn’t insisted on him staying home for the rest of his medical leave. The prospect of spending more time with his lover had won over his need for action and the blond agent agreed to finish off the remaining five days of his leave. He looked at the time. 7.30 P.M. Any moment now Q would step into their apartment. The agent forced back the sense of uneasiness that still lurked in his subconscious as he reached for a package of pasta.

The sound of the alarm’s deactivation and the following turn of a key into the door lock announced the arrival of their third party.  
Both agents relaxed subconsciously as if it took only the young Quartermaster’s presence to make them forget their worries. James smile softly as he stirred the sauce in the pan.

“Welcome home, love. I’m about to toss the pasta into the water so you have time to change” he called, not looking away from what he was doing. He was sure Q would be in the kitchen in just a few moments to hug him from behind, face pressed gently on his back before planting a small kiss on the blonde’s shoulder. Alec would soon join them trying to get his lovers’ attention like a dog demanding to be petted.

Alec, not as patient as his fellow agent, sprang up from the sofa as soon as he heard the door closing. He quickly closed the distance to the entrance and saw Q trying to take off the bag strapped diagonally across his back. A mischievous smile crept on the Russian’s face as he silently stepped to the turned man. When he was at touching distance, he leaned forward till his face was close to Q’s ear and whispered to him.

“Welcome home, moj dorogoj. Why don’t I help you taking your clothes off?”

Q’s startled at the voice in his hear and spun around. The abrupt movement caused his dizziness to flare up and he swayed dangerously until he felt a pair of strong hands steadying him. Alec was watching him, green eyes suddenly alight with worry. He must have noticed his flushed cheeks, pale skin and glazed eyes, because not a second later the agent brought a hand to the younger man’s forehead to check his temperature and swore.

“Shit. Q, you’re burning up!”

“I just need to lie down for a while. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Assure Q, even though he felt like crap. Alec was not convinced by these words, but decided not to comment focusing instead on helping his sick lover. He reached to pull off the anorak and he felt the dampness on the material. It stopped raining by the time Q walked off MI6 so this wasn’t fresh. Narrowing his eyes he looked at Q.

“It started to rain heavily early this morning just after you left. Please tell me you didn’t get soaked and stayed that way at work.”

Sensing the tension in Alec’s body, Q looked guiltily at his lover.

“I did get caught in the rain...but I changed when I arrived at Vauxhall.” Seeing Alec’s expression he continued “The rain started just a block from the tube station, I couldn’t come back to get an umbrella or I would be late so I ran in the rain. When I arrived at the office I was drenched, but I changed immediately...I didn’t have a change of shoes though so I had to deal with these all day long.”

Alec swore again. Q was prone to colds and chest infections. When he was little he had been a sickly child and he nearly died of pneumonia. That experience left him with weakened lungs and riding the tube in that season in addition to getting caught in the rain sure lead him to his current conditions.

The Russian hung up the anorak and proceeded to help Q with his shoes. When he wrapped his hand around Q’s right foot the boffin left out a moan of pain. Looking up, the 00 caught the grimaced set on his lover’s face.

“Dare I ask what happened?” He inquired as he gently took off the shoe to inspect the swollen ankle.

“Twisted it when trying not to fall down...Alec, I...I don’t feel so well...“

Q’s voice became just a whisper at the end and Alec had just the time to raise his head to look back at Q before the boffin began crumbling down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with a new chapter. Still not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> This is for Tsuyu and her love for angst.

“Alec, I don’t feel so well...“ 

Q’s voice became just a whisper as his words trailed away and Alec had just time to raise his head to look at him before the boffin began crumbling down. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes that Alec managed to get to his feet and caught the younger man as he went down. With an arm around Q’s shoulders and the other under his knees, Alec hoisted him up in a swift motion. Q’s head came to rest on the older man’s chest with a whimper and a weak apology. Alec hushed him gently. In this new position the agent could feel the high temperature emanating from the man in his arms and that sprang him into action. 

“JAMES! Bedroom now!” he yelled striding to their bedroom sure that his other lover would be on his heels at his call. 

Hearing the urgency in Alec’s tone made James worry instantaneously. He turn off the stove and made his way to the bedroom. When he reached the door he saw Alec kneeling in front of Q, busy taking off the younger man’s socks. The boffin was sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms wrapped tightly around his torso as if he was trying to keep himself warm; he was shaking visibly.  
James noticed that Q wasn’t wearing what he did in the morning. In fact the clothes he had on where the ones that Alec and him had switched in the boffin’s locker. 

“What happened?” he asked taking a step into the room toward the couple. As he did so he got a first glance at Q’s flushed cheeks and glazed eyes. Instinctively he reached out and placed the back of his hand on the younger man’s neck. The skin felt hot to the touch and adding another person’s body temperature should have been uncomfortable but James could see how Q leaned on the touch, trying to soak up some heat to ease the chills running through his body. The agent came closer making Q leaning on his side; he shifted his hand to run his fingers through the unruly curls on the nape of Q’s head, massaging it gently. He lowered his eyes to meet Alec’s green ones. The Russian’s expression was worried and annoyed at the same time. 

“He’s never going to ride the tube ever again! Especially at this time of the year. That thing is a biological hazard. Of course that fact that he got caught in the downpour early this morning and he decided that work was more important than his health played a big part in his current conditions. He-“

“I was fine Alec. I changed” Q mumbled, face nearly completely buried in James’s sweater. Alec’s jaw clenched. 

“Well , you are NOT fine.” Alec stood up abruptly. “James tell him!” 

“Q, love, you DO have a tendency to overlook what’s good for you sometimes. Work could have waited a bit and if you’d let me give you a lift this morning we wouldn’t be here fighting right now.”

Q suddenly jerked away from James, fire burning in his eyes. He looked at his lovers, an angry expression settling on his face.

“Let me see if I got it right, I’m being scolded by the two of you because I went to work, to finish a really important project by the way, after getting caught in the rain instead of coming back home? And if I would have listened to you this morning I would have avoided all of this, right?”

Glancing first at Alec and then at James, Q saw that the agents were agreeing with what he had just said. 

“You two are just big hypocrites!!! How many times did I have to deal with one of you, if not both, getting hurt on a mission because you had a job that needed to be done? How many times do you disregard what I tell you to do because you think you’re doing the right thing?” 

“Now Q, you know that those mission are very important and we can’t just drop everything we work for just to get patched up over every single scratch we get.” James said, trying to calm the irate Quartermaster, but feeling a little irritated at the outburst. 

“Oh so now MY work isn’t important? Tell me, just who does invent and create all the weapons and tools you use in those very important missions James? And let’s not talk about all the technological help my Branch and I supply you during those missions. I-“

“We are not implying that your work isn’t important! Christ, will you listen just once?” Interrupted Alec, running a hand through his hair. 

“No, I’m not bloody listening to you. I didn’t do this on purpose you know? I’ve got deadlines I have to meet. Deadlines that get pushed aside everytime we have to help one of our agents in the field, but those deadlines are still there when things turn back to normal. In the last seven days I had to stop everything I was doing to help you Alec and 002 during your missions so-“

“Oh great, so now I’m the one to blame? You know what? I’m done.” Alec turned away and made his way out of the bedroom. Just a minute later the front door opened and slammed shut. 

“Well done Q, look what you’ve done! Couldn’t you have just listened to us?” 

“Not when you two are treating me like a bloody child! I am-“

“You are being a god damn brat right now, Q. Get your head out of your arse and stop the bitching. We were just-“ A pillow thrown his way stopped James mid sentence. The agent grabbed it before it could hit his face and looked at Q, eyes narrowed. 

“Get out! If I’m such a brat and a burden to you, leave!“

James looked at Q with glacial eyes. The boffin was trembling and panting slightly, but James was too annoyed to take it in.

“Fine then. I’ll go. Don’t bother calling till you change that attitude.” That said he left, not bothering closing the bedroom’s door behind him. 

As soon an Q heard the front door close again, tears started to well up in his eyes. He willed himself not to cry but he suddenly felt like an ungrateful bastard. He knew he had pushed his body beyond its limits and that his lovers had been just worried about him, but Alec’s anger and James’ accusations had been too much to deal with in his fevered state.

The sudden stillness in the room made Q miss immediately the presence of his agents. The warm feeling of being pressed against James’ body had been shoved aside by a coldness that swallowed him entirely. A whole body shudder wrecked his lean frame. All of a sudden he felt very vulnerable and alone. He slowly stood up intending to go to the bathroom to take some medicine, but he had just took a step when he was painfully reminded of his injured ankle; he stumbled and nearly crashed to the ground but he managed to keep himself upright grabbing the night stand. He righted himself and slowly he limped to the bathroom as a sob escaped his closed lips; he remembered the gentleness with which Alec had carried him in his arms earlier and wished his lovers there with him. 

When he finally reached the sink he tried not to look at his reflection in the mirror as he opened the cabinet where they stored the medicines. He reached for the little bottle of Tylenol, he unscrew the cap and tipped it to get a pill. Nothing came out. The bottle was empty. Suddenly angry, Q threw the bottle at the wall. The shattering of glass satisfied him a little, but not completely. He exhaled, defeated. He had better go back to bed, maybe some rest would do him good. Before moving back to bedroom, though, he decided get something to drink; his throat felt parched. Going to the kitchen to get a glass was out of question, too far away, so he took a mouthful of water directly from the tap. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was till the first drop of liquid had touched his tongue. 

Once back in the bedroom, Q climbed on the bed and burrowed under the duvet. His body wouldn’t stop shivering and not for the first time since James and Alec left, he wished they’d never fought. If they hadn’t he would have been sandwiched in between his two lovers by then. He sighed. It was entirely his fault that they had left. James was right; he had been a brat and he had pushed them away. The boffin took James and Alec’s pillows and arranged them as if they were his lovers, one on his back, the other right in front of him, arms around it. He buried his face in the pillow he was hugging, Alec’s his mind supplied.

“I’m sorry... come back to me...please...” he mumbled before falling in a troubled sleep. 

JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ

 

Alec’s anger had faded quickly while driving his car around the city. Thinking back on the argument he had with Q, he realized that maybe he had overreacted a bit. The boffin didn’t asked to get sick. It hadn’t been his fault it had started to rain that day or that he had been caught in it and it wasn’t definitely his fault if he had caught some virus taking the tube. Flu season was at its peak after all. Q couldn’t have prevented those things, but the fact that he had continued working even when he started to feel sick didn’t bode well with the agent. 

He knew that he couldn’t fault Q’s reasoning though. The boffin had had every right to call him and James two hypocrites. During missions they had often endangered their lives, a few times even when it hadn’t been necessary. Queen and Country above everything. They had told Q constantly, so why it was so infuriating when Q did the same? Alec knew that answer already. He and James had had a talk about it. Q had quickly become the most important person in their lives; even more important than their duty to the Country. His safety and his wellbeing were higher priorities than everything else. So knowing that the boffin had put his health aside to do his own duty has stroked a part of Alec that only two people had the privilege to know about. The Russian had been scared; scared of the fact that Q could easily sacrifice his life for the greater good and THAT was something that neither he nor James could accept. If they lost Q their world would shatter. Sure, compared to being shot or stabbed or something worse, a flu would be nothing, but it meant something to Alec. It had been Q’s willingness to disregard his own health that had scared Alec. He couldn’t lose another important person, not after his parents. His hands tightened on the wheel.

When Q was better he was going to talk to him and explain why he reacted the way he did. Alec glanced at the clock on the dashboard. 21.45. He had being driving for nearly two hours. Time to go back home. He was still a bit annoyed at Q, but not so much to actually stay away when the boffin needed him. He made a U-Turn and hit the gas. 

 

James was sitting down at the counter of the bar, a vodka martini in front of him; it was still untouched. He was lost in his thoughts as he replayed the events that had taken place earlier that evening. Alec’s anger had been contagious even though in James’ case it didn’t explode like a volcano. That was Alec’s style. James’ anger would simmer and express itself in a more subtle way. Like it did that night. He insulted Q and left him. He didn’t even let the boffin explain. He had been exasperated when Alec had told him how Q got sick. The boffin had refused every single time he had offered to drive him to work that past week saying that he was on medical leave and that he shouldn’t have to be his driver while recovering from a shot wound. James had huffed but agreed to rest some more even though he was feeling perfectly fine. With Q so busy between projects and missions, though, James would have been left wondering the halls of MI6 without nothing to do. 

It had been irrational to get angry at Q for things out of his control, but not for neglecting his health. The boffin was prone to do that while deep in his work and both Alec and James loathed it, but they were sure worse than him. James had a new scar to testify that. He got shot because he had been too stubborn to admit defeat and he had taken on more enemies that he should have had to bring back the USB containing the data he had been sent to retrieve. Not three months before Alec had gotten caught in an explosion after he had disregarded an order. His intuition that there was something of interest in the building that was going to be destroyed had been right, but Q had ranted for hours about disobeying his orders and getting himself in danger. James knew they were being two hypocrites, but they couldn’t help it. Q was their lifeline. Nothing should have happened to him on their watch. Rationally James knew that they couldn’t protect Q from illnesses but that didn’t stop them from trying. 

The blond man knew that they had exaggerated. James knew that Alec had acted out of fear and he understood the Russian perfectly. Like his partner, James had lost too many important people in his life; his parents, Vesper, the old M. He didn’t want to feel that loss ever again. Not if he could prevent it. Like for Alec, Q’s sense of duty scared him sometimes, because it was exactly like theirs but if that was the case, they would make sure to help Q as much as possible and if that meant to be there for him when he was run down so be it. James started to feel guilty. That was the exact opposite of what they had done that night. They had left Q. They had left him alone when he was sick. No matter how angry they was at the boffin they shouldn’t have done that. Q had never deserted them when he or Alec got injured. He had been angry at them, he had ranted and shouted and, one memorable time, even punched Alec so hard that the surprised Russian had fallen down, but he did all those things after he had made sure that they were on the road to recovery. They hadn’t even shown him the same kindness. James cursed at the realization. He stood up, drink completely forgotten. He needed to go home.

 

JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ.JAQ. JAQ

 

Q woke up coughing. He buried his face in the pillow still in his arms to try and stifle the sudden attack but without much success. The coughing fit soon had him choking and gasping for breath. His body had curled up in a foetal position, tears had gathered at the corners of his eyes from the strain of the attack. Q felt like he was suffocating. Everytime he took a breath his chest shook violently in response. He needed to drink something, maybe that would help him. He quickly disentangled himself from the sheets and started his way to the bathroom. The sudden movement made the room spin furiously around him and his sprained ankle made himself known sending a shooting pain up his calf before giving away under his weight. Q found himself flat on the floor, momentary winded. The still moment lasted shortly and soon the dry, barking cough returned. Q struggled to get on his knees but every movement was becoming strenuous. His chest had started to hurt, the pressure on it increasing to the point it was hard to even take a breath. His vision was starting to obscure and the boffin knew he was on the verge of passing out. Not a second later his limp form slumped to the floor. 

James called Alec on his way home. After having yelled at him for leaving Q on his own, the Russian told his partner that he was stopping to get something light for Q to eat. In the meantime James went to get some medicines. They arrived home at the same time, each carrying a white plastic bag. 

“Things got out of hand” Alec stated as the two of them stepped into the elevator. James couldn’t do more than nod, lips closed in a tight line. 

“I’m sorry I stormed out” added the Russian. James could see that he was feeling guilty over the whole ordeal. He sighed.

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I did the same thing. Got pretty angry at Q myself, said things I didn’t mean and walked out of him. I think we both owe his an apology.”

“We’ll apologize to him and we’ll nurse him back to health. He won’t have to lift a finger till he’s back on his feet. I’ll make sure of it.” 

For the first time since he left the bedroom, James smiled. When Alec decided he wanted to do something he was too stubborn to desist. Q was going to be spoiled for the next couple of days. James couldn’t help but agree with his partner. For the time being, Q would be their only priority.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took them long enough to sort their thoughts but at least now the boys are back...Q's a little worse for wear at the moment though. Stay tuned to see what will happen next! 
> 
> Thunder


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time to have our agents take care of their sick boffin. Finally. 
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos you keep giving me! I appreciate every single one of them!

James and Alec stopped quickly in the kitchen to put down the bags of supplies before making their way toward the bedroom. The light mood that had settled between them on their way back shattered as soon as they reached their destination. They both froze at the sight in front of him; Q laid sprawled on the floor, out cold. They sprang forward, anxious to reach their unconscious lover and dropped to their knees beside the younger man. James reached out and pressed the back of his hand to Q’s forehead.

“He’s burning up. Alec go fetch a thermometer, a cloth and some cold water. We need to bring down this fever.” 

The Russian didn’t hesitate in following the instructions. He raced to the bathroom to retrieve the necessary; he immediately caught sign of the shards of glass scattered on the bathroom’s tiles. No pills were lying among the mess. The little bottle must have been empty, so that meant that Q hadn’t taken anything for his fever. Alec cursed under his breath. He quickly retrieved the thermometer and brought it back to James. The older man had transferred Q back to the bed and under the covers and was currently sitting near the boffin, running his fingers through Q’s damp hair. Alec handed James the thermometer and went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of water and a cloth. Once there he remembered the bag from the chemist. He rummaged through the content and found some Paracetamol. Back in the bedroom he noticed James’ frowning.

“How bad?” he asked, putting down what he was carrying.

“39.5 °C. Higher than I thought. He didn’t seem this sick earlier.” James answered, taking the cloth Alec brought and starting to dab at Q’s face gently.

“That’s because it wasn’t that bad earlier. The fight must have helped rising the temperature. The fact that there was no medicine to lower the fever sure didn’t help.” Bond’s questioning look spurred Alec to continue “The bottle of Tylenol we kept in the bathroom is currently in pieces on the floor. Q must have thrown it against the wall. It was empty.” Alec paused, one hand found his way to Q’s hair. “If we had been here we could have helped him sooner.” 

“We can’t changed what happened Alec. We-“

James was interrupted when the boffin started mumbling under his breath. Q seemed agitated, head moving restlessly. Both agents leaned closer to the boffin trying to understand what he was saying. Fault, mine, please, back, sorry. Both men felt as if they’d just been punched. They shared a guilty look. 

“Q, please Kotyonok. It’s not your fault. Shhh, calm down, it’s not your fault”

“Easy love. We are here. You’re not alone, Alec and I are here.” 

Both agents tried to calm the sick man and slowly Q quieted down again. While James continued running the cloth over Q’s face, Alec busied himself crushing down a pill of Paracetamol and dissolving it in a glass of water. With one arm supporting Q’s back, the boffin’s head resting on the Russian shoulder, and the other holding the glass, Alec helped Q drink the dissolved medicine. Once the medicine started to make effect, the boffin would start feeling better. 

“We should change him” Alec told James “he’s soaked in sweat. He’ll rest better in some fresh clothes.” 

The two worked in tandem to take off Q’s clothes. It was something they could do blindfolded. Alec gently removed James’ sweater and his T-shirt from their lover’s lithe frame. Normally seeing Q in their clothes would have been a turn on for both men, getting them to attach themselves to their younger lover and start kissing him possessively. That day Alec could only smile sadly as he took off the garments. All of a sudden, Q hissed in pain and tried to curl himself in small ball but the agent’s hold on him prevented the movement. Alec looked at James and saw that he was trying to help Q’s legs out of the pants. 

“Fuck! I forgot about that. James be careful with his right leg; Q hurt his ankle coming home.” James didn’t stop what he was doing but he handled his task with even more gentleness than before. With Q’s pants out of the way, the older man started examining the injury. Q’s ankle was swollen and there was already some bruising forming just under the lateral malleolus. The joint was a bit stiff and the skin resulted tender to the touch. Despite that James sighed relieved. It was a pretty bad sprain; painful yes, but nothing that some rest couldn’t cure. Experienced hands helped Q into some clean clothes in a matter of minutes; it wasn’t the first time that the agents had had to change the boffin while he was sleeping. When Q returned home exhausted after having spent lots of hours at Headquarters, he had a tendency to crash on the bed, or even the sofa sometimes, not bothering to change at all before falling asleep. 

Once Q was dressed, Alec went to get some ice to put on the injured ankle while James bandaged it expertly. Five minutes later Q was resting again, foot propped up on a pillow, an ice pack resting over the sprained area. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully for the time being. 

When Q woke up sometimes later, he registered immediately a cold feeling on his foot. Shivering, he attempted to escape the icy grip on his ankle. He curled up in a foetal position to keep his body warm and to keep at bay the light shivers shaking his frame. He frowned, something was off. Even in his fevered state, his mind seemed to work nonstop. He was sure that he should be still on the floor. He recalled waking up unable to breath, chest tight and painful from coughing. He vaguely remembered falling to the floor trying to reach the bathroom, by then his chest was on fire. He was sure he had passed out right there. If his recollection was right he should still be lying where he had collapsed, so why was he resting on a soft surface? Q was distracted from his thoughts by a gentle hand running through his hair, a voice calling his name. He forced his eyes open. Alec’s blurry face was staring right at him. He was so close that Q could see him frowning even without his glasses on. 

“Q? Are you with me?”

Q blinked slowly and swallowed, his sore throat protesting immediately. He looked at his lover and immediately fragmented memories of their earlier fight started assaulting his mind. The boffin inhaled sharply, but the sudden intake of air triggered a new round of coughing. Q pressed one fisted hand on his mouth trying to stifle it, but it didn’t work. He heard Alec calling to him, his lover’s hands moving frantically from his hair to his back, trying to sooth him. When the attack didn’t stop, Q felt himself being lifted into a sitting position, strong arms around his middle and he came to rest against a solid body. Everytime he tried to take a breath his body was wracked by painful coughs that tears gathered at the corners of his closed eyes. All of a sudden he felt something cold being pressed against his lips and someone coaxing him to drink. He sipped carefully not wanting to aggravate the situation and the cool liquid running down his throat soon helped soothing his cough. He felt exhausted. With a whimper he sagged against what he knew was Alec’s body. He would have been gone back to sleep right there if not for the two voices calling to him. When he opened his eyes he squinted a bit to get things to focus. Immediately he felt his glasses being gently placed on his face. Finally able to look clearly he saw James sitting just past Alec with a glass of water still clutched in his hand, the other rested gently on Q’s shoulder. The agent was watching him with concerned eyes. Q noticed that his hair was wet, rivulets of water running down his neck, soaking the collar of the T-shirt James was wearing.

“J’mes. Why are you w’t?” he croaked, voice hoarse. 

Q felt Alec snorting under him and tried to look at him when James’s voice claimed back his attention. 

“I just had a shower, love. I rushed here when I heard you coughing. How are you feeling?” 

“I...you left!” Q started, becoming a little agitated. “You two left! You left ME. Why are you here? Why-“

He felt the arms around him tightened.

“Please lyubov. Calm down. You don’t want to trigger another fit, right?”

Q shook his head, breath laboured. 

“No, you said you were done and left.” He addressed the Russian. He then focused on James “and you, you told me I was a brat and not to bother you.” 

Both agents cringed at their younger lover’s words. Q had used an angry tone to try and cover up the hurt behind the statement, but his eyes couldn’t lie. Those beautiful green eyes that had captured their hearts from the beginning with their intelligence and expressiveness. Q’s emotions could always be interpreted clearly if you just looked straight into his eyes and that was something both James and Alec were grateful for. Too many times their job had required the suppression of every feeling; they were used to it, they had mastered it, they were, after all, the two best Double-Oh agents that MI6 had ever had. When needed they could always put on an emotionless mask, eyes unreadable to anyone. It was what made them the best, the most feared. Q didn’t have that particular talent. He couldn’t turn his eyes into two blocks of ice like James could nor into some jaded crystals like Alec did. No, Q’s eyes always held a sparkle of something, be it challenge, fear, exasperation, love or hate. The boffin could school his face perfectly, but his eyes always showed what he was truly feeling. That particular trait was what made him so precious to his lovers. They would always fight to protect that spark of innocence; they would never allow Q to become like them. He was the better part of their trio. Which was why it was so unsettling to see the hurt in Q’s eyes and to know that they had caused it with their angry words and brash actions.

“Q, dove, you’ll have another fit if you don’t calm down. Please.” 

James raised the hand on Q’s shoulder and rested it on the side of the boffin’s face. He gently stroked the warm skin with his thumb trying to help the younger man relax, but Q was refusing to listen. The boffin freed himself from his lovers’ hold and reached the other end of the bed intent on getting away from both men. As soon as he put weight on his sprained ankle, pain shoot up his calf. He cried out and was about to fall down, but before he could hurt himself further he found himself back on the bed, two firm bodies pressed against his back. James and Alec had reacted immediately as soon as Q started to go down. Thanks to their quick reflexes they grabbed Q and drew him to the safety of their arms. The pain slowly faded away as the boffin sat silently, his lovers still cradling his body. His anger vanished all of a sudden, replace by a sense of shame over his actions. Both James and Alec had come back despite how he had behaved during their fight and both seemed genuinely concerned about his health. 

Q’s eyes misted over; his stubbornness was the cause of the whole situation. The fault was his. He had pushed his lovers away when they had merely expressed their concern over him. He had kept rebutting everything they told him, stating that he was an adult, thus able to take care of himself when in reality he wasn’t. He was terrible at taking care of himself. He forgot to eat, he forgot to sleep. If there was a vital mission to supervise or a significant project to carry out then that took the priority and everything else, even his needs, became secondary. It had never been a problem before. Not when he was alone, but that was not the case anymore. Gone was the child that had to fend for himself when he had found himself orphaned and sent to live from one house to another without ever settling down. Gone was the teenager that had to keep the bullies away when he started studying at Oxford University at fifteen years old, his brilliant mind rousing jealousy amongst fellow students and professors alike. Gone was the young man that, at eighteen, had been the best hacker in the world, praised by others hackers, but without a single friend. 

Nobody in the past had cared for him, not for his happiness nor for his wellbeing; not since he had lost his parents. Things had changed though. Now he had two wonderful men that cared deeply for him. It could be overwhelming sometimes, but Q was so very happy. The time spent alone didn’t erase itself though and it treacherously resurfaced when he was focused on a task. He had spent so many years not having anyone caring if he ate or sleep that sometimes he forgot that he had people who loved him now. That was why he found himself in the situation he was currently in. He had overworked himself and gotten sick as a result. It was only rightful for his two lovers to scold him for his carelessness but his pride refused to accept any critics. 

A strangled sob escaped his closed mouth and Q quickly bit his lower lip to prevent any more sounds from escaping. He felt the two men move behind him and not a second later two hands were stroking his tear-stained cheeks. He suddenly realized that he had closed his eyes and blinked them open. James and Alec had moved to sit on either sides of him. The mixture of worry and love as they looked at him was too much. Q started to cry openly, his hands finding their way to grasp around the material of his lovers’ shirts. He tried to close the distance with James and Alec by bending forward and weakly pulling the agents toward himself. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.” He blurted, wanting to explain but not finding the words. He was visibly trembling, both from the fever and his outburst. 

James and Alec had been surprised to see tears running down Q’s cheeks instead of the anger from before. When they touched the younger man’s face and he opened his eyes, they saw a swirling of emotions inside them, from stupor to regret. They didn’t resist when Q had tugged them closer, but when the boffin had started apologizing again and again, their protective feelings flared up. Alec buried his hand in the boffin hair, stroking it soothingly. James’s hand instead rested on the lower part of Q’s back, thumb rubbing gently but firmly, trying to relax the distraught man. They both were trying to calm him down whispering into his ears. At last the boffin stopped his litany of apologies, breath laboured and still shaken by small sobs. He was finally calming down, but the agents were still worried, both by what had just happened and by the heat emanating from Q. The fever that had lowered quite a bit after they had given the boffin Paracetamol was back with a vengeance, surely thanks for this outburst. 

“Kotyonok, please, it’s not your fault alone so you don’t have to apologize. I think we all went too far and the situation got out of hand. We each had our reasons I’m sure and we’ll talk about it, but I think that the most important thing now is to get you well.”

“Alec’s right, love. Your fever spiked again and I don’t like the sound of that cough. How about we postpone the apologies and the explanations until you recover?”

“Please” Q tightened his grip on both agents’ shirts, head rising to look at each of them. “Don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I-“ He coughed weakly and he buried his head in the crook of his right elbow to smother it. “I’m sorry to be a burden.” He continued once he stopped coughing. 

“You’re not a burden Q and we are sorry if we gave you this impression. We’re just worried about you and we hate to see you sick or hurt. We didn’t mean what we said, we don’t want to leave you”

“I’m afraid you are stuck with us dorogoy.”

Alec tried to lightened the mood and was rewarded by a small smile gracing Q’s mouth. 

“Now come on. Back under the covers with you, you are pretty sick and we don’t want you to get worse.”

While the Russian helped Q, gently reminding him of his injured ankle when the boffin had tried to put some weight on it, James went to fetch more water and some medicine. He handed Q a glass of water and a Paracetamol while he read the instructions on the cough syrup bottle he had thought wise to buy knowing Q’s propensity to develop chest infections. Once Q finished his water to wash away the bitter taste of the syrup, Alec put the ice packet back on Q’s swollen ankle. As soon as the icy compress made contact with the boffin’s heated skin, a whole body shiver run through him. Q whined at the cold feeling and tried to escape it only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shin. 

“Alec, please take that off me. I’m freezing!” protested Q as he burrowed further under the duvet. 

“Sorry kotyonok, but you’re ankle is still pretty swollen so we need to ice it.” Alec looked up and was met by the most adorable sight. Hair tousled, sad puppy green eyes, cheeks red from the fever and lips pursed; Q was pouting at him. He was honest-to-God pouting at him. Alec didn’t know he was moving his arm to reach for the offending object on Q’s foot until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, James standing beside him. Alec cursed silently as he realized what had happened. He had nearly surrendered to Q’s request thanks to that pout. The Russian knew that if his younger lover ever looked at him in such way again he would do anything he asked him. He was so screwed. Shaking his head he stood up just as James addressed Q.

“Sorry, darling. The ice pack has to stay, but I think we can do something about you being cold.”

Both agents joined Q under the covers and gently maneuvered him till he was spooned in between them. Q let out a content sigh as he buried his face into James’s chest. 

“’s warm.” He mumbled, slowly falling asleep. He didn’t feel Alec taking the glasses off his face, placing them on the nightstand and settling back behind him, one arm draped on his waist; he was already dead to the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that, it seems that this time I finished the chapter on a happy note! XD What do you think? Let me know. Comments and kudos are always welcomed ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Russian translations:
> 
> kotyonok = kitten  
> lyubov = love  
> dorogoy = darling


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soo much for all the kudos and the reviews.

Q woke up the next day still nestled between his lovers. Judging by the light coming through the window it was still early. It was raining heavily outside and Q left out a content sigh. He swallowed and grimaced when his abused throat protested the action. He had woken up a few times during the night coughing dryly, but thankfully he had never experienced another fit like the one who had made him pass out the night before. The cough syrup that James had brought had helped quite a bit. His throat, though, was quite sore. The boffin took a minute to catalogue how he was feeling. The chills seemed to have eased quite a bit and he was grateful for that, but all his muscles still ached somewhat fierce. His head felt heavy, but there was no sign of the headache that he had had the previous day at work. Next he tried to bend his right foot a little, but the tiny movement sparked a sharp jolt of pain that made him tense. 

“You should keep that foot still krasavets.” 

Q tried to twist his body to look at Alec, but the Russian tightened his hold around Q’s middle, easily halting the action. Q was about to scold him when he a cool hand rested on his forehead. He looked up and met James’ eyes. The blue had taken on a darker hue, so different from the icy shade from yesterday; the worry was shining on the surface. For a moment, Q lost himself in those pit less pools of water, until James’ voice shook him out of his reverie. 

“You still got a fever, but it feels lower than it was last night. How do you feel?”

James had moved his hand from Q’s forehead to brush through Q’s hair, slightly damp with sweat. The boffin nearly fell asleep again, lulled by the rhythmic strokes on his head and the warm cocoon his lovers were providing him.

“Q? Hey, come on. Open those pretty eyes for a moment and tell us how you feel.”

With an herculean effort, Q managed to pry open just one eye, an unfocused gaze landing on James’ face. 

“Throat hurts. Ankle too if I move it. Head’s fuzzy.” He blinked slowly “I ache all over.” With a heavy sigh, the open eye closed again. A soft “ ’m tired” escaped Q’s lips before the boffin fell asleep again.

Alec didn’t move till he was sure Q was completely asleep. He then turned around to get the digital thermometer left on the nightstand the night before and took Q’s temperature. 

“38.5 °C. Not as bad as last night, but I hoped the fever would be lower this morning.”

“His body is too drained to fight off the infection properly. He needs rest and food. I’m sure he hasn’t had anything to eat since yesterday breakfast.” 

Alec hummed displeased. “Probably. You know how he gets when he’s focused on his job. Ok. You go make some breakfast while I shower and then let’s see if we can coax him into eating something.” 

Alec quickly disentangled himself from his position behind Q without rousing the sick man. 

“Oh and why am I the one tasked with the cooking? I seem to remember that you know how to operate a stove” quipped James. He was standing too and gently tucking the duvet around Q’s form to keep him warm.

Alec grinned at him. “Because, lyubovnik, the last time I prepared something you deemed my cooking skills too low for your palate…and because Q forbad me to be near anything that might explode after the incident in the last mission!”

“Oh sure. Now you choose to follow orders. Not to mention that the last time you tried cooking, it was to recreate something you had eaten during a mission and you just put together random ingredients. We were lucky not to get food poisoning. You’re perfectly able to make a simple breakfast.” James countered, a lopsided grin adorning his face.

“Well better safe than sorry and since you are by far a greater cook than I can ever be, the kitchen duty falls on you.” Alec said just outside the bathroom. A mischievous gleam suddenly appeared in his eyes as he added a “So be a dear and go be a lovely wife while I take a shower” before quickly closing the door behind him.

James didn’t shout back at him only because he didn’t want to disturb Q, so he settled into grumbling to himself while making his way to the kitchen.

A sudden idea crossed his mind and he grinned predatorily “I’ll give you the wife, you bastard!” 

JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ,

Forty minutes later, a pan, three empty plates and two mugs were put neatly in the sink ready to be washed. James got his revenge on Alec for having had the nerve to call him a “wife” by putting a generous amount of hot sauce in Alec’s eggs. A bit childish maybe, but James enjoyed immensely his lover’s reaction to the food. The Russian nearly choked on the first bite and immediately rushed to the fridge to wash down the spicy taste with some cold milk. After that he had to remake his own food because James refused to cook for him again until he got an apology. Apology that didn’t take too long to come since Alec knew better than to antagonize the one providing his meals. 

While James was preparing something to eat for Q, Alec called Eve to let her know that Q wouldn’t be going to work that day and possibly the next few days as well judging by how hard the flu had hit the younger man. 

Rousing Q from his sleep had been a hard task and then they had to force the boffin to stay awake long enough for him to drink and eat something. Despite their encouragement, Q managed to drink only half a cup of tea and eat a few morsels of bread before becoming nauseous. He weakly pushed away the plate with the remaining toast and accepted the Paracetamol James handed him before helping him back under the covers. No James nor Alec were satisfied with the amount of food Q had eaten, but they couldn’t do anything about that because Q’s appetite when sick was nearly non-existent. 

The two agents decided to settle in the sitting room, as to not disturb Q while he was sleeping. Every now and then, though, one of them would rise and go check if the younger was resting peacefully. A few times they rushed into the bedroom when Q woke up coughing and wheezing but the frequency and the severity of the fits had greatly decreased since Q had started taking the cough syrup. It was something that pleased both agents since they were worried that Q would develop a chest infection, but it seemed that that wasn’t the case. 

At lunch time, James tried again feeding Q something. He had made some chicken broth but as soon as Q smelled the delicious aroma a wave of nausea hit him. It was frustrating because without nourishment Q couldn’t fight off the fever that was ravaging his body. With Q curled up in a fetal position, head resting against his knees, moaning at his upset stomach, Alec decided something had to be done. He dressed swiftly and went out on a retrieval mission. When he came back he was carrying a shopping bag with some ginger root, several lemons and a jar of honey. He quickly set to make Q an infusion of ginger and lemon peel, he poured it in Q’s favourite mug before adding some fresh lemon juice and a spoonful of honey. He presented it to Q and gently held the mug to the younger man’s lips. Q drank slowly, a small sip at a time, nervous that the hot drink would make him sick, but instead it did wonders to his nausea. He smiled brightly at Alec and the Russian returned the gesture in earnest, sharing a triumphant look with James.

They decided to try again with the food and finally the boffin managed to eat a whole slice of toast without consequences. His appetite was still lacking greatly, something that displeased both agents, but at least the few Q ate didn’t cause him anymore distress. Alec and James were happy to see that the herbal tea had worked, so they switched to making that instead of the boffin’s preferred Earl Gray.

Q’s fever remained the same throughout the entire day, never lowering nor, thankfully, rising again. Q slept for the majority of the time, rousing only to take some medicine or to have something to drink or when he had to go to the bathroom. The same routine continued during the night and when the sun rose, the fever finally lowered. 

JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ.JAQ,

Alec woke up first, years of training allowing him to scout his surroundings without opening his eyes. Everything was calm, the Russian could feel his lovers’ gentle breathing as they continued to slumber. He cracked one eye open to look at the man in his arms and his gaze landed immediately on a nest of tangled chocolate hair. Q’s face was hidden in Alec’s chest, warm puffs of air brushing against the thin cotton of the older man’s T-shirt while warm fingers were curled around the soft material in a lax grip. James was positioned on Q’s back, one arm folded under his own head and the other encircling the boffin’s thin waist keeping him close. One of Alec’s arms was draped over the both of them, hand resting on James’ hip. 

Alec basked in the peaceful atmosphere for a bit, reluctant to disrupt the silence. He was a man of action, the thrill of a mission always managing to energize him and yet he loved moments like that, when he could simply enjoy the small things; a cuddle in bed with his lovers, a shared meal, the banter over the possession of the TV remote…Such things, so mundane to others, where little treasures in the life of a spy, especially for someone of James and Alec’s caliber. It was funny to think that never before they had craved for such things. They started to appreciate them only after Q had entered their lives. The boffin, so different from them in many aspects, was the lynchpin in their relationship. Sure, James and Alec had been an item well before the younger man joined them, but their rapport couldn’t compare to the one they now shared between themselves and with Q. It was profound and consuming, something they didn’t think they would find with their job. Now they had it and like a flower needing care and nourishment, they would protect that bond with all their power.

Alec raised his gaze and was met by a pair of cerulean irises. James was watching him carefully. He understood perfectly well what his fellow agent was thinking. A nod of agreement passed between the two and Alec grinned. James nodded in Q’s direction.

“I think he’s doing better this morning” he murmured, not wanting to disturb the younger man.

Alec gently moved Q’s head till he could press a light kiss of his forehead. The skin wasn’t overly hot, like the previous day, nor as sweaty.

“Yeah, it seems like his fever has finally lowered. Today he should feel better, maybe even be able to eat more than a few bites of bread.” 

“What I need is a shower!” Q’s voice was hoarse and scratchy, surely due to his sore throat and all the coughing he did the day before, but it was a welcomed sound to the two agents.

“I stink” Q grumbled, sniffing disdainfully at his T-shirt. “How can you stand it?”

James nuzzled Q’s neck.

“Mmh, not the worse thing I’ve smelled. Alec is way worse after our morning run.” He stated, trailing kisses on Q’s skin. 

“Oh yes because you’re as fresh as rose and rivaling its scent after training. Don’t listen to him, milyi. Although I have to agree with James, you don’t stink that much.” He said as he cuddled Q closer to him.

Q tried to resist the pull, but Alec was stronger than him and easily won the brief struggle. Q groaned, defeated and let his head rest again on Alec’s chest.

“I’m smelly, sticky and my hair feels gross.” 

Alec hummed and James started running a hand through Q’s disheveled hair. 

“How are you feeling this morning?”

Q didn’t move, too comfy to turn around to look at James. He considered his answer before replying.

“Better, definetly better than yesterday. Throat is still a bit sore, I’m not overly tired and my head feels better.” He moved bent his right foot a little. “Ankle still hurts when I move it” he added, wincing at the stinging pain in his calf. He felt James move and then gentle fingers prodded his injured foot. 

“The swelling went down quite a bit but it’s still fairly tender. We’ll have to change the bendage and keep icing it. I’m afraid you won’t walk on it for a few days still, love.” 

“That’s not a problem, tigr. We’ll just have to carry him around…hardly a task if you ask me” joined Alec, grinning up at James.

Q shoved him and the Russian chuckled amused. 

“Come on, let’s see how’s your fever and then you can have your shower. Up you get.”

Together James and Alec helped Q sitting up. The thermometer was quickly retrieved from his resting place and put to good use. 

“Finally. 37.4°, you still have a slight temperature, but nothing compared to what it was yesterday “ informed Alec, smiling happily.

“Alright then, Alec you help Q with his shower while I go and make us some breakfast.”

“I can shower alone just fine! I don’t need help.” Interjected Q, frowning cutely between his two lovers.

“Yes, sure you can, but with that busted ankle you won’t have the same mobility so I’ll have to make sure you don’t end up slipping in the shower. Plus you know I can’t resist seeing you naked.” With that Alec gingerly got up, Q secured in his arms, and marched to the bathroom. Q protested all the way that he didn’t need to be carried, he simply needed a hand walking around but Alec ignored him.

James shook his head at his lovers’ behaviour as he headed to the kitchen.

Half an hour later Alec appeared in the kitchen, Q still in his arms. The boffin had resigned himself to be carried around after his attempt at hobbling from the shower to the sink resulted in a near fall and a “told you so” from Alec. After the shower Q felt distinctly better. His hair, no longer greasy from sweat, smelled like his favourite shampoo and the bangs stood messily on his head, making him look younger than his years. He was dressed in a fresh pair of blue and green tartan pijama bottoms and his blue Star Trek uniform hoodie. The latter had been a Christmas present from Eve and it had become immediately one of Q’s favourite. The sweatshirt was soft and really warm, it was a bit oversize, ending just under the boffin’s bum with sleeves long enough to let out only Q’s fingertips, but the boffin loved it. It was like wearing something belonging to James and Alec and it gave him a sense of security. 

As soon as Alec laid him on one of the kitchen chairs, Q curled his uninjured leg under him. A steaming cup was placed in front of him and the boffin didn’t hesitate in reaching out and curling his long, elegant fingers around the hot china. He lifted the mug up to his nose and breathed in the familiar citrusy fragrance of bergamot, sighing contently. He didn’t realised he had closed his eyes until he heard chuckling and had to open them to look for the source of the sound. Alec was giving his back to him, busy pouring himself a cup of coffee, but James was openly staring a Q, eyes alight with mirth. 

“Seems like someone is feeling better. Are you up to eat something?”

Q pondered his answer. He was a bit hungry and some food would be welcomed.

“Maybe a couple of toasts, please.” 

James turned around to put some bread in the toaster. He then stirred the content of a frying pan, tasted it and added a pinch of salt. While he worked, Q observed him. Watching James cooking had always had a soothing effect on him. The agent’s movements were sure and precise, everything was done in the right order and at the right time minimizing the effort and maximizing the result. The boffin was so focused on his observation that he didn’t notice Alec sitting next to him till the Russian poked his side. Q shifted his attention to his second lover as Alec pointed at his bendaged ankle.

“You need to keep that elevated. Come on” he patted his lap. 

Q carefully raised his leg till it was resting comfortably on Alec thighs and let the man examine the injury. He took hold of the foot a gently bend it a little to test its mobility. Q gasped at the pain and Alec hummed under his breath.

“You did a number on this poor ankle. After breakfast we’ll dab some arnica on it and put a new bendage.” 

He rested a hand on the ankle, thumb stroking lightly the fabric over the swollen flesh, and grinned at Q.

“Looks like we’ll be carrying you around for bit.”

The boffin glared at him, but any rebut was interrupted as James placed the food on the table.

“Stop antagonizing him Alec and eat your breakfast.” Turning to Q he added “do you want some jam ot butter with those toasts?”

Q considered the option before shaking his head.

“Better not risk it. I don’t want to get sick again eating something too rich, but I wouldn’t be opposed to some fruit.”

James nodded and a few minutes later he handed Q a plate with a sliced apple and a peeled orange. Q savoured the freshness of the fruit and ate his breakfast with gusto. James and Alec smiled at his enthusiasm, happy to see that their boffin was finally feeling better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q is finally feeling better...but that means that our boys will have to talk about their fight...stay tuned to see how that will go! <3
> 
> Russian translations:  
> milyi = pretty one  
> lyubovnik = lover  
> tigr = tiger


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for Tsuyu. Happy birthday dear! XD

After breakfast James went to air the bedroom and change the sheets as Alec took Q to the sofa in the living room. There the agent swiftly removed the old bandage from the boffin’s foot and gently rub some arnica oil on the injured area. His light touch, incredibly tender for a man with a license to kill, barely caused any pain and Q visibly relaxed on the couch. 

By the time James came back, Alec was finishing medicating Q’s injury. The blue eyed man joined his lovers on the sofa, nudging Q till the boffin sat up so that he could take a seat behind him. He let the younger man lean back against his chest, one hand absentmindedly going to run through silky brown hair.

Q sighed contently at James’ ministrations. That simple act had always managed to soothe him. The boffin knew that it was time to discuss the fight they had the night he came home sick from the office but just thinking about that made him nervous. His lovers would have probably waited till he was fully healed to breach the subject, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted to apologize for worrying them but at the same time he was anxious about explaining his reasons to them. He had told James and Alec very little about his past. Only sparse bits of information but he never talked fully about his childhood or the life he led before joining the MI6. It was something he didn’t like to reminiscent, but he knew that he would have to in order to make his lovers understand where his behaviour had originated from. 

He watched distractedly as Alec put the medical kit he had used on the coffee table before settling back and brushing a gentle hand on the fresh bandaging on Q’s ankle. The contented silence that surrounded them pushed Q to speak. 

“I think I own you an apology.”

Q’s eyes were fixed on his folded hand resting on his lap but he could feel his lovers’ gazes on him.

“I didn’t mean to worry you. I honestly thought that it was nothing a good night rest wouldn’t have cured. I know that’s not an excuse and that I should have taken better care of myself but I was so behind on my deadlines that I focused solely on getting the job done. I’ve never left a project incomplete before and I didn’t want to start then. This job is very important to me. It gave me you two and I can’t risk to be replaced. That’s why I put everything I have making sure that every mission has the best support, each agent the best equipment, each gadget the best technology and each project is completed in time. My work has to be spotless. After the Silva fiasco many of the higher-ups wanted to fire me. In their opinion I lacked the experience for such an important role, but Mallory fought against their judgement. Ever since I’ve pushed myself to work harder in order not to have to face something like that again. I can’t lose this job. I-I can’t fail.”

Q could feel himself starting to crack when a hand gently lifted his head and he was met by a pair of soulful green eyes.

“Lyubov, you’re the best Quartermaster that the MI6 has ever had. Nobody is foolish enough to fire you. Your work speaks for itself, so you have to relax a bit. You’re going to burn yourself out if you continue to push your body and your mind like this.”

James’ arms sneaked around his chest and locked him in a firm hug, the agent’s face came to rest on the boffin’s shoulder as he spoke.

“This was a warning that your body sent you. You need to take a rest, darling.”

Q shook his head “The deadlines...”

“The deadlines” interrupted James “can sometimes be overlooked. No one expect you to do the impossible. Emergencies has to take priority over everything else. Our missions are fundamental in the safety of our Country and they always come first over every other project. You had to deal with a number of these emergencies in the last couple of weeks, I’m sure M would have understood the need to put the projects aside to deal with matters of national security. What he wouldn’t tolerate is for you to neglect your health over something that’s not of top priority. M needs you, MI6 needs you and you must be in top form to continue protecting us and the entire United Kingdom from the shadows.” 

James nuzzled Q’s neck, peppering the skin with kisses. Q thought about what his lovers had just told him and he understood their reasoning. It ashamed him that his insecurities got the better of him to that point.

“You’re both right. It’s just that...it’s something new for me to have someone caring for me again. Before coming to work for MI6 I was a total loner; I didn’t approached anybody and no one approached me for a friendship. I learned from an early age that people can be utterly cruel and I learned very fast to count only on myself. Now, though, I have you two in my life and I know you care for me like I care for you, but sometimes it’s hard breaking old habits. My past shaped me, not in the best way maybe, but this way I survived what the life threw at me. I know we don’t talk about our past very much, if never. We like best to focus only on our present and our future, but I have to explain. Maybe opening up will help me change my bad habits and it might help you understand me better.”

Q felt James’ arms tightened around him and Alec squeezed his tight reassuringly.

“You don’t have to talk, but since you seems so intent in sharing this with us just know that we’re here for you. Nothing you’ll say will ever change our feelings for you.”

Alec looked at him straight in the eyes as he said those words and Q nodded, his chest warm with the knowledge that his lovers would understand. He sagged a bit into James’ embrace as he gathered the strength to begin his story. 

“When I was seven my parents died. We were coming home from a restaurant, it was raining heavily and a car speeding in the opposite direction lost control and hit us . My mother died on impact. My father survived the accident but he was in critical conditions. He lived for another week before his heart gave out. I never got to say goodbye. I had hit my head pretty badly in the crash and had fallen into a coma. Other than that I had only broken a leg and a couple of ribs. I was lucky I guess. I stayed unconscious for a month. When I woke up I was told that my parents had died and that someone would come by to pick me up when I was healed enough. I had missed the funeral.”

Q blinked away the tears that threatened to fall down. Remembering the incident that took his parents away from him was always a painful experience. He felt his lovers comforting him, not with words but with loving touches. Alec had started to lightly caress his ankle while James gently rubbed a thumb across his stomach. Q was thankful for the silent support his lovers were giving him and steeled himself to continue his tale.

Alec and James shared a sympathetic look over Q’s head. They both were familiar with the ache caused by the loss of a loved one. What made them feeling worse was the fact that their young lover was a sensitive person. One wouldn’t know that particular fact since the boffin always appeared to act aloof and distant at work and interacting with others, but the few people that managed to push past the barriers that the young genius had created around his heart could attest that he was quite emotional. The origin of a such reserved behaviour surely had to have its roots in the death of his parents and whatever had happened after that. 

Their musings were interrupted when Q started to speak again.

“Two weeks later I was discharged and put in the care of Social Services. I didn’t have anyone to take me in. No relatives, no family friends. I was all alone. They put me in the foster care system. I wasn’t young enough to be adopted easily. I spent the next seven years being moved from foster family to foster family. I wasn’t a problematic child, but my intelligence was challenging. I was bullied for my scrawny appearance and for the fact that I liked books better than people. I spent the majority of my time alone. The other children liked to pick on me so I started developing my snarky side to deal with them. When no one of the foster families expressed an interest in keeping me and I reached thirteen years old I was sent to a children’s home. Life there was worse. There were only boys my age or older and I became a target pretty soon. My food would sometimes disappeared or be tossed to the floor before I could eat it. The few personal objects that I got to keep with me were often ruined. The people running that institute didn’t care what happened as long as we didn’t end up too badly hurt, which I never did thankfully.”

Q felt the tension and the rage radiate from both James and Alec as he recalled those years. 

“If we could we would make all them pay for the way they treated you” growled Alec, looking straight at Q. The boffin saw the fire burning in those emerald eyes and he felt a rush of affection toward the Russian. 

“No one is ever going to hurt you like that ever again, we’ll make sure of it!” added James, tightening his hold around the younger man. Q turned his head to look at James and bumped his nose on the blonde’s chin as a thank you.

“Thank God those days were nearing the end” Q continued “When I turned fifteen I was given the money that had belonged to my parents. It was a bit of a irregularity but since I had graduated from high school earlier than my peers and I was already enrolled into Cambridge University with a full scholarship I was considered able to sustain myself without the need to stay at the institute so I was given my money. I left the very same day. The first thing I did as soon as I was on my own was to buy a computer. I always loved to use them in school and owning one gave me the opportunity to learn more about them. Needless to say that I took to it like a fish takes to water.”

Q smiled remembering that old thing that had helped him create the basis for his current life.

He felt James chuckle.

“It must have been traumatic when you had to bin it. First love is always hard to forget!”

Q squawked indignantly.

“Who said that I have thrown it away? I still have that computer. At the moment I’m keeping it safely storaged in one of the safes at work. It will stay there till I figure where to put it in our flat.”

Alec looked at him incredulously before bursting into a heartfelt laugh. 

“Only you, kotyonok, would keep a piece of dead technology as a keepsake” 

Q kicked him with his uninjured leg, but the Russian kept chuckling. Q rolled his eyes as James joined his partner in crime in his mirth.

“Anyway, soon enough I became pretty handy with coding, encrypting and hacking and my name was one of the most known between hackers. I had started to lend my talent to companies wanting to strengthened their security; they paid well and I needed the money. At that point my life was spent between finishing my masters in Mechanical and Computer Systems Engineering and my hacker career. I had nor the time nor the need to socialize with others. All my time was dedicated to my work. That’s when I developed the habit of skipping meals and pushing my body to its limits. I often got so lost in what I was doing that I completely forgot that I had needs. Sometimes I would even pass out from exhaustion and dehydration and no one ever worried about me. I had many contacts but no friends and as long as my work was done on time there wasn’t a problem.”

Alec glared at him and he could feel James’ chiding glare on the back of his head. He shrugged guiltily and went on with his story.

“One day I received an offer from MI6. Apparently my work had managed to caught the eye of none other than M. She was interested in my skills and wanted to shape me into old Boothroyd’s successor. The idea of making a career in espionage was alluring and I accepted immediately. That decision changed my life. I started to actually talk to people though I still kept a safe distance from any sort of social relationship. I slowly started to climb the ladder and before I knew it I was promoted to R. Then there was the bombing orchestrated by Silva and I suddenly found myself as Head of Q Branch following the death of the late Quartermaster. Not a week later I met you James.”

Q shifted his head to look at James and smile at him. The blond man didn’t hesitate as he returned the gesture before kissing the boffin’s temple. 

“You were the most cocky person I’ve ever met but I found myself incredibly drawn to you. I found myself trusting you implicitly. Never before I had felt that way with someone, let alone someone I’d just met. Your peculiarity intrigued me and I started to think about you more and more as the days passed. You quickly became an assiduous visitor in my branch whenever you were grounded in between missions. I actually came to look forward to your visits. But you weren’t the only one wanting to spend time with me. Bill and Eve started to come down to keep me company; they wanted to chat or eat lunch together. They were sincerely interesting in knowing me. I guess Skyfall created a bond between us. Even Mallory sometimes called me to ask mundane things like how I was doing or if I wanted to drink a cup of tea with him. It was during those months that I started to remember what it feels like to have people genuinely caring for you and I could say that I cared for them too. I started to see them as family, albeit a really dysfunctional one at that. Bill and Eve were like the older siblings I had never had and M like an uncle, but you James, you were something more. I realized that I had started to fall in love with you. Fast and hard. When I was in your presence it was difficult to maintain my professional persona especially when you started to flirt with me. I was gathering up my courage to talk to you when Alec returned from his undercover mission.” 

At this Q gazed at the man sitting in front of him. Alec grinned wolfly, winking at him and the boffin rolled his eyes even though a smile graced his lips.

“I was crestfallen when Bill told me that you two were lovers and my heart nearly broke at the thought that you James had flirted with me just to pass the time. But when you didn’t stop with your advances I became confused. Only after Alec started to flirt too I let my hopes rise. It didn’t take much to fall for you Alec, you’re simply irresistible when you put your mind into it. I guess my starved heart clang to every bit of affection that was thrown my way, but nonetheless I was overjoyed when you asked me to became part of your life. I feel incredibly lucky to have you two in my life and I’m sorry for the way I shouted at you the other night. It seems that the stress made me regress to my old habits and that’s entirely my fault. I should have known better than that. I-”

“Stop right there, love” 

James tightened his hold on Q, causing the younger man to look a him.

“You may have overreacted but so did we so you don’t need to take all the blame. We are all responsible for the fight. Learning about your past changed my or I should say our perspective on your habits and helped us understand you better. Just listening to how you grew up made me think about my past. I know you have probably read it in my file so me being an orphan is nothing new. Same thing for Alec. You, me and Alec we have suffered in a similar way in the past. That’s something that not everyone can understand. It’s like we were fated to be together. Like some sort of gift for the misery we’ve been put through. We are sort of like a puzzle that can be completed only by linking the three of us. With you we finally feel whole.” 

Alec chose that moment to jump into the conversation. He looked sincerely at his boffin. 

“You scared us. I know it’s stupid but knowing that you won’t hesitated to push your body and your mind beyond their limits worry us. We don’t want to lose you. I was not angry because you got caught in the rain or because you got sick. I was angry because you didn’t deem your health important. I know neither me nor James are the best when it comes to take care of ourselves, but our job is risky and we’ve accepted it. Getting shot, being knifed or caught in an explosion, it’s all part of the deal. I know you yell at us everytime we do something that results in an injury, but we know how it works out there in the field and we know when we can risk it and when it’s best to retreat. What we won’t accept is you getting hurt unnecessarily. You can’t understand how relieve I am on missions knowing that you’re here, safe.”

Alec looked down as his hands clenched into fists. 

“You have to take better care, kotyonok. The mere idea of losing yo-“

Gentle hands on his face interrupted him. He let those warm palms turn his head till he met Q’s misty-eyed gaze. The boffin was kneeling in front of him, shoulders shuddering and injured ankle momentarily forgotten at his lover’s distress. He blinked and the tears that were held captive in his beautiful eyes started to slowly slide down his cheeks. Q let go of Alec’s face and linked his arms behind the Russian’s neck, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Alec automatically twisted his body to wrap his arms around the lithe body of his younger lover. 

“I’m sorry. God I’m so sorry.” 

Q took a hitching breath.

“I promise this won’t happen again. I don’t want to worry you, either of you. The mere idea of you getting hurt for not being alert in the field because you’re worried about me kills me. I-” he exhaled shakily, raising his head to look at Alec. “I won’t have that.” A hand brushing through his hair alerted him that James had moved closer. He unlocked one arm from around Alec and turned to James. He grasped a fistful of the blonde’s T-shirt as his head was guided to rest on the blonde’s firm chest, fingers gently massaging his scalp. 

“That’s what we ask, darling. You have Alec and I and I’m sure Moneypenny and Tanner will keep an eye on you when we’re not around.”

“I think even M would be glad to kick you out of your branch if you start to overwork again.” Alec added, a smile back on his face. The two agents coaxed Q back into a sitting position when they caught the boffin grimacing; his sore ankle still bent uncomfortably on the sofa. 

James resumed his previous position, cradling Q to his chest, but there was still a thing that was troubling him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again any mistakes are to be blamed only on me. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are loved and they makes me happy :)
> 
> See you next time lovelies

**Author's Note:**

> This story is nearly completed so the updates should be pretty regular. 
> 
> Russian translations:
> 
> Etot ublyudok ranial Q = that fucker hurt Q.
> 
> krasavets = beautiful
> 
> lyubov = love
> 
> moy dorogoy = my darling


End file.
